Congress workers take out a demonstration in Gurgaon (left); a poster of Sudarshan being burnt in Ahmedabad.

An FIR was lodged in Jaipur and a defamation case filed in Bhopal against the RSS leader, even as protests by party activists erupted across the country. They burnt his effigies and staged rallies in several states.

Put on the mat by the vociferous protests, the RSS and the BJP swung into damage control mode. The RSS issued a statement, saying that Sudarshan's remarks did not represent its views.

BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar said the party's views on the issue were the same as that of the RSS. "I express my heartfelt deep regrets over the alleged statement, which has hurt sentiments, and the subsequent developments that are unfortunate," Sangh general secretary Suresh Bhaiyyaji Joshi said in a statement.

The day was marked by nationwide Congress demonstrations. In Delhi, the police had to use water cannons to disperse protesters outside the RSS headquarters at Jhandewalan.

In West Bengal, the arterial road connecting south and north Kolkata was blocked for about 20 minutes by Congress demonstrators. An effigy of Sudarshan was burnt in the Esplanade area of Kolkata, with Congress workers carrying placards that read 'Arrest Sudarshan' and 'Condemn Sudarshan' for his comments against Sonia.

In Patna, hundreds of party activists assembled near Patna Junction and took out a procession to the busy Dak Bungalow roundabout where they shouted slogans and burnt an effigy. They urged the state government to register a criminal case against Sudarshan for tarnishing the image of Sonia.

The Congress attacked the BJP, too, asking why it was keeping silent on the issue. "Such language should not have been used. The Congress workers' anger is natural, but I appeal to them to maintain calm," party spokesperson Shakeel Ahmed said in Delhi. "Though the RSS has distanced itself from Sudarshan's remarks, it is not enough. The sangh should apologise unequivocally," he added.

In Jaipur, the police registered a criminal case against Sudarshan.

The police were, in fact, directed by Jaipur's chief judicial magistrate Puran Chandra Sharma to file a case. The CJM's directive was in response to a complaint filed by Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee member Suresh Mishra.

Referring to Sudarshan's utterances, Mishra in his complaint said that not only were the allegations wild, they amounted to a character assassination of the chief of the oldest and largest political party of the country.

A Congress party worker also filed a defamation case in a Bhopal court, as Sudarshan had allegedly made the remarks in the city two days ago in a rally. In Chennai, hundreds of Congress workers -- including state party chief K. V. Thangkabalu -- were taken into custody when they resorted to a road blockade. In Hyderabad, Congress workers put a garland of slippers on a portrait of Sudarshan.

Even the Punjab unit of Congress threatened to hold demonstrations across the state. In Dehradun, nearly a hundred Congress workers courted arrest. In Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister K. Rosaiah said the RSS leader's comments were inhuman and inexcusable. In Allahabad, an FIR was lodged by RSS supporters against Congress leaders accusing them of having "attacked" the sangh office.

(With inputs from Sudhanshu Mishra in Jaipur and PTI)

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